Ned, like many seniors with no immediate family, was discharged from the hospital after a brief stay with no particular care plan.

He lived alone. If an emergency arose, there was no one to call.

Ned made the hospital staff aware of his situation, and a social worker called Catholic Charities’ Engel Senior Day Care Center in Cranford seeking help for the 78-year-old.

Catholic Charities is one of the recipients of donations to the Greater Newark Holiday Fund.
A staff member from Catholic Charities contacted Ned and told him about the services the agency could provide.

Ned felt the need for counseling and also asked to see a priest. The staff made arrangements for him to be seen by a priest at Engel Center.

When Ned met with a counselor, he appeared frail and sad. He told the agency he was a victim of fraud and said he was so overwhelmed by creditors that he even attempted suicide.

During a private meeting with the priest, Ned admitted his failed suicide attempt. He also made the priest aware of the spiritual void he felt in his life. By the meeting’s end, Ned said he felt less depressed.

Ned enjoyed himself so much at Engel Center that he spoke to a staff member about receiving financial aid to regularly attend sessions at the agency. Since Ned relied on Social Security as his sole income, a staff member signed him up for a county grant that would pay for his attendance and transportation.

His participation in the program would prove life-saving on multiple fronts.

During an afternoon visit to a session, a staff nurse noticed Ned was non-responsive. He was quickly taken to the hospital.

The priest who had counseled Ned was by his side throughout the ordeal. He said he didn’t want Ned to wake up in the hospital alone, without a familiar face nearby.

Ned is now home and doing well. He is grateful to the agency for helping him find purpose in his life.

The staff has grown to be more than just professionals he receives aid from — Ned said he considers them family as well. He continues a strong relationship with his counselors and with the priest as his mentor.

The Greater Newark Holiday Fund raises money throughout the year, but especially during the holiday season to help agencies like Catholic Charities of Northern New Jersey provide relief and assistance to those in need. It relies on donations to support these agencies in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic and Union counties.

GREATER NEWARK HOLIDAY FUND
SUNDAY DECEMBER 23, 2012
CONTRIBUTORS:
Total contributions: $129,704.11
$15,000: MCJ Amelior Foundation
$2,500: Wayne C. Paglieri
$1,000: Anonymous
$500: Anonymous
$200: In memory of Yvonne and Claude Brewster
$150: Anonymous; In memory of Leida and Joseph Joseph Anuskowitz, Ruth and Cal Keck
$100: Anonymous; In memory of Nicholas and Vasiliki Lampros; David and Donna Collins; Robert and Kathleen Fettweis; C.Theodore and Joan Pinckney; Eilleen T. Sharp
$81 The Hoffman Girls
$75 In memory of George Decker
$50 In memory of Evelyn and George Schneider; In Honor Of Our Troops; Mary C. Cheress; Barbara Ridder Irwin; Sonia and Walter Majowicz, Jr.
$30: In memory of Marion Gallagher
$25: In memory of John and Anne Tevnan; In memory of Anthony and Theresa Carluccio; In loving memory of Alfred Waters, Sr; In honor of my parents; Lois Shachtman
$20: In memory of Juan Tindell
$15: In memory of Muffin Hannen
$10: In memory of Naomi and William Smith